This used to be a blog for an English independent scholar of fantasy fiction - but then "Doctor Who" stole my brain, my heart, my soul and my life - so these days it's more a Blog about my on-going utter obsession with "Doctor Who" - with occasional non-DW book reviews and discussions.

Friday, May 12, 2006

In honour of it being the birthday of the master of nonsense poetry, Edward Lear, today, I want to share with you one of my favourite poems of his:

The Jumblies

I

They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,In a Sieve they went to sea:In spite of all their friends could say,On a winter's morn, on a stormy day,In a Sieve they went to sea!And when the Sieve turned round and round,And every one cried, 'You'll all be drowned!'They called aloud, 'Our Sieve ain't big,But we don't care a button! we don't care a fig!In a Sieve we'll go to sea!'Far and few, far and few,Are the lands where the Jumblies live;Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,And they went to sea in a Sieve.

II

They sailed away in a Sieve, they did,In a Sieve they sailed so fast,With only a beautiful pea-green veilTied with a riband by way of a sail,To a small tobacco-pipe mast;And every one said, who saw them go,'O won't they be soon upset, you know!For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long,And happen what may, it's extremely wrongIn a Sieve to sail so fast!'Far and few, far and few,Are the lands where the Jumblies live;Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,And they went to sea in a Sieve.

III

The water it soon came in, it did,The water it soon came in;So to keep them dry, they wrapped their feetIn a pinky paper all folded neat,And they fastened it down with a pin.And they passed the night in a crockery-jar,And each of them said, 'How wise we are!Though the sky be dark, and the voyage be long,Yet we never can think we were rash or wrong,While round in our Sieve we spin!'Far and few, far and few,Are the lands where the Jumblies live;Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,And they went to sea in a Sieve.

IV

And all night long they sailed away;And when the sun went down,They whistled and warbled a moony songTo the echoing sound of a coppery gong,In the shade of the mountains brown.'O Timballo! How happy we are,When we live in a Sieve and a crockery-jar,And all night long in the moonlight pale,We sail away with a pea-green sail,In the shade of the mountains brown!'Far and few, far and few,Are the lands where the Jumblies live;Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,And they went to sea in a Sieve.

V

They sailed to the Western Sea, they did,To a land all covered with trees,And they bought an Owl, and a useful Cart,And a pound of Rice, and a Cranberry Tart,And a hive of silvery Bees.And they bought a Pig, and some green Jack-daws,And a lovely Monkey with lollipop paws,And forty bottles of Ring-Bo-Ree,And no end of Stilton Cheese.Far and few, far and few,Are the lands where the Jumblies live;Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,And they went to sea in a Sieve.

VI

And in twenty years they all came back,In twenty years or more,And every one said, 'How tall they've grown!For they've been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone,And the hills of the Chankly Bore!'And they drank their health, and gave them a feastOf dumplings made of beautiful yeast;And every one said, 'If we only live,We too will go to sea in a Sieve,---To the hills of the Chankly Bore!'Far and few, far and few,Are the lands where the Jumblies live;Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,And they went to sea in a Sieve.

I will send you to read my absolute favourite of Lear's poems elsewhere because Marco Graziosi offers an illustrated version of The Owl and the Pussycat. Do take time to explore his site, it's fabulous, and do enjoy Mr Lear's nonsense - it's good for the soul !

About Me

I write and read every day - sometimes I read an entire book a day, sometimes I don't. I did a degree in English and History in the late 90s as a mature student, but I've loved these subjects since my school days. I concentrated on studying First World War literature and history for most of my degree, until I wrote a paper on Harry Potter in my final semester. I've been writing about fantasy fiction (for children and for adults) ever since (although I haven't lost my interest in the First World War.) In January 2007, inspired by David Tennant's performances as the Tenth Doctor, I took up writing "Doctor Who" fan-fiction (and no, I don't intend to try to publish it anywhere except on my Blog. I'm just writing it for fun.) I'm also about to start writing non-fanfiction as well.
I have a 'day job' which isn't very well paid, but does keep me in Oxford, the city I love, and is flexible enough to give me time to write.
I am a participant in the Amazon Europe S.à r.l. Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.

"A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold." - Henry Miller 'The Books In My Life' (1969)

Disco legendo libros; scribendo cogito.

I learn by reading books; I think by writing.

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